To Zanarkand
by YaoiIsLove
Summary: Shishido Ryou, star blitzer of the Zanarkand Abes, had it all until the day a monster called 'Sin' destroyed his home and sent him into the future. Now he must struggle to find his place in this world called Spira and maybe find his way home.


Title: To Zanarkand

Rating: T

Pairing: none as of current

Warnings: Cross-over

Spoilers: Events to Final Fantasy X, but lets face it, if you've played this game and have never finished it you deserved to be spoiled.

Summary: Shishido, star blitzer of the Zanarkand Abes, had it all until the day a monster called 'Sin' destroyed his home and sent him into the future. Now he must struggle to find his place in this world called Spira and maybe find his way home.

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or Final Fantasy X.

Author's Note: Hi, everyone, this is my first fan fiction in a VERY long while. I believe it's been two years now. I decided to go easy on myself and start with something that wouldn't strain my brain to much and came up with this lovely little 'cross-over'. I do hope you all enjoy and will continue to be patient with me. For those hoping for updates to my other fics, please continue to be more than patient with me. Many of my fics are in the middle of a current re-write and will be taken down and reuploaded. While you wait for THAT I present this little piece and hope you all enjoy. Also, this fic is unbeta'd, please forgive the mistakes.

To Zanarkand

The sun rose over the horizon, making the brunette open his eyes to stare into the nothingness he saw around him. Though, it was not nothing. It was so much more than nothing to him, to the people around him. This time, this place, this moment was so much more than the ruins of a dead city. Everyone of the faces around him reflected the thoughts and trepidation each other felt. They were so close to the end. So close to the end.

Standing up, he stretched his arms above his head, eyes scanning the immediate area. He had never seen this area before, then again he was never allowed by his mother to wander to the borders. To think so much lied beyond what he had known. He shook his head, dismissing the thoughts, dismissing what he had been , he walked over to his silver haired companion, placing his hand gently on his shoulder. The silver closed his eyes, leaning into the touch, as if willing it to last. He was reluctant to let his hand slide away, but he wanted to see more of this ancient city; wanted to see if it was the city he had known.

He climbed a nearby rock formation, where the remnants of a tower stood at an odd angle; evidence that a city had been here. A glowing ball of rainbow light floated up past him and off to the sky. Another followed it, followed by several more. Were these the dead? The memories? He didn't know. He didn't want to think about it. He just wanted to stare. Stare at the ruins. Stare at the destruction. Stare at the city long lost to time.

_Listen to my story. This maybe our last chance._

With a start the brunette jerked away, looking around in alarm. Slowly, he calmed down, running a hand through his long brunette locks. He had just had the weirdest dream but couldn't remember it for the life of him. He looked around his circular home, circular and empty as always. The same old blue and purple rug. The same old pictures. The same old windows.

Sitting up in his bed he reached down, pulling on his sneakers, lacing them to the top. He had been so excited after practice last night that he had fallen straight to sleep still wearing his blitz uniform. Standing up he turned to the full length mirror next to the bed, smirking at his reflection. Today was the day. Today was the day they'd take the championship and he'd show everyone he was better than his father. He was the ideal blitzer, after all.

He tugged on his yellow vest, making sure it was securing under the straps his overalls. He checked himself over, double checking that everything was tight, his armguard was still secure and ready for the hard offensive play tonight. With a nod he reached down to his right leg, brushing his pant leg free of dirt so the symbol of their team proudly showed through.

He hopped down the one step his abode held and looked around. There felt something almost surreal about tonight. His mother had passed away 10 years ago, soon after his father had disappeared, so it wasn't being alone that felt odd. The table was unused, the seat pillows in their same mussed positions, the windows slightly foggy from the sea air; it was none of these things, yet something felt his head he hurried up the ramp to his front door, listening closely to the chatter of his fans outside. Taking a deep breath he opened the door, stepping out onto the deck of his boat like home. The people waiting immediately began cheering, the girls waving their arms wildly to get his attention. He gave them a smirk and waved back before walking over.

The girls handed him notepads, asking for his autograph while pushing their chests out as subtly as they could manage. Not that their clothes left much to the imagination. South Zanarkand fashions were full of short shorts and small tops that left little to the imagination and these girls definitely seemed to like those fashions. They made small talk, the girls telling him where their seats were as if he'd be able to spot them from the dome. He handed them back their notepads, and they giggled, batting their eyelashes at him.A group of boys waved him over, waving their blitzballs in the air, eager for him to sign them. He smiled to them, walking over and signing their balls. Eagerly they begged for him to teach them how to play blitzball properly. He scratched his head, thinking. Maybe after the game he could spare some time."You can't tonight," a small voice spoke up. He turned to look behind him at a boy in shredded shorts and blue cloak. The hood seemed almost to large and the boy maneuvered it several times to fit it properly. He shook his head, turning back to the boys offering tomorrow as a better option. The boys beamed before placing their blitz balls down. They placed their hands in front of them, moving them upwards to make a circle ending at their chest before bowing. The brunette smiled, nodding his thanks.

With one last look at his fan he took off, jogging down out of the harbor onto the main bridge that would take him to the stadium. He looked around, marveling once again at how beautiful his city was. The bridge he was on was easily as tall as their tallest sky scrapers and when one looked over the edge all they could see was more buildings, and more bridges. Their city stretched on to eternity and it was their city. The city that never slept. The city so beautiful that water cascaded down the sides of buildings and formed elegant memorial arches. The city that was always bustling with life and activity. This was his home and he could never dream of living in another walked down the bridge, hands in his pockets, a bounce in his step. Nothing could go wrong tonight. Tonight they'd be taking down the Duggles from C-South with no trouble and would win the cup. They were the Abes, a force to be reckoned with. There was not a team one in Zanarkand that had come up against them and won, and the Duggles would be no different. With that thought in mind he all but sprinted to the stadium where crowds had already formed to greet the players as they arrived. Upon his arrival they swarmed, begging for his autograph or just a chance to touch him. He awkwardly tried to shrug them away, trying to get through to the stadium. After five minutes of hard struggle he fell through to the outside of the crowd, giving them a wave before disappearing into a door to the right of the main team greeted him as they dressed, running over strategies for the game, pointing out the weaknesses of each Duggles player. Naturally he was going to be playing the mid fielder, the most important position on the field. It was going to be his job to score, score, and score.

An official knocked on the door, asking if they were reading to enter the pool. The Abes looked between each other before nodding, closing their lockers and following the man out. The official led them to the shower station so they could each rinse off before ascending 20 stories into the main waiting pool. Once he was rinsed off, he stepped onto the lift with his team, looking around at the closed stadium. In just under an hour this place would be alive with cheers for him and for his lift finished it's climb, a small door opening to allow them entrance into the pool. They each entered the pool, minding their heads on the roof enclosing it. The pool was a comfortable foot of water for them to relax in before the start of the match. It was enclosed so as the stadium filled with fans their minds were focused solely on the coming took his seat, leaning against the edge, legs outstretched, eyes closing. All he could here was the rushing water around him, and that did relax him greatly. He had to keep his mind on the prize. Swim forward, go for the immediate goal. Don't be afraid to knock players back.

The enclosing slide back with a soft whoosh, leaving nothing but the darkness of a closed dome and the rushing of fresh air around him. He could hear people gathering into the stadium already, the sphere regulator geared to life starting to move slowly around the globe that would be their arena. He could almost hear his own heart beat at this point, he was so anxious. There was a flicker of light, and then another and his eyes snapped open to see the large ball of blue electricity forming in the center. The ground roared and it was now that he realized he had completely tuned them stood up, walking out onto the ledge designated for him. His teammates stood on each of their respective edges, watching the sphere fill with water. They all stared straight ahead, watching the energy build before it exploded outward with one large burst, sending them all reeling slightly. The water sphere rose upwards in the energy's place, signaling the game was about to the blare of a horn they dove into the arena and the game was in full play. The players wasted no time to get into the fray. Before he had a chance to even swim forward the Duggles right field player was on him, tackling him down to take the ball. The ball dropped, the Duggles left field grabbing it heading for the goal only to be stopped by the Abes defenders. He regained the ball as it was passed to him, swimming forward as fast as he could before passing it to his own left field teammate. The teammate in question caught the ball only to be blindsided from behind, fumbling in the Duggles favor.

Their right fielder grabbed the ball and swam upwards. He saw his chance and charged the player, putting his left arm forward and forcing the other man clear out of the arena much to the applause of the crowd. Grabbing the ball he passed it to his open teammates who went for the score, the ball sailing past the goalkeeper into the goal with a scoring blare and en even louder cheer from the crowd. Now all the need was an enormous sphere shot to end the half and the ground would be sold on the Abes victory. His teammates seemed to have the same train of thought as they cleared the field.

He jetted upwards, the Duggles's players following his path with their eyes. Breaking through the top of the sphere he could hear the roars of excitement, the announcer yelling excitedly about the sphere shot coming. The ball followed him up as he arched backwards, ready to kick the ball right past the goalkeeper for an amazing second point. Only, that's when everything went wrong. He wished he could say he missed the kick or fell into the water. He wish he could say the ball disappeared but no, it was none of those things.

Time had slowed down alright, but not in a heart pounding game point moment. No, rather in a terrifying shock sort of moment. He couldn't see what it was, but it was large and before he could blink missiles of some kind were shooting out of it, into the city. The attack alarms blared, and people screamed in terror, running from the stands as he fell back into the water. His teammates motioned for him to get out , but they were stuck, they all were. The gate to the sphere was sealed and if it was opened the sphere would empty and they'd all fall. A blast over head knocked out the regulator, and the sphere began to disappear beneath them. They had no choice, they had to find a way blast echoed over head as they swam for the waiting pool. He couldn't focus anymore, he swam for the edge and grabbed a hold just as a blast took out half the stadium, leaving him dangling 20 stories above ground level. Below him he could see people running, screaming, trying to avoid the destruction around them as things disappeared into rubble. He desperately tried to get his other hand around the ledge, trying to rescue himself. The attempt was in vain, as he fell with nothing but smoke to catch was quite sometime later when he came to. He lifted himself to his knees, rubbing his head, looking around. There was nothing but rubble around him, the former entrance to the stadium complete blocked by giant pieces of itself. Water ran down the rubble, over him and underneath him from the destroyed sphere no doubt. He looked upwards to find nothing left of the arena itself. He was sure he had fallen the full 20 stories so how was it he felt that he had nothing more than a bump?Civilians ran past him, exiting the stadium still so it was obvious that he was not the only survivor. Climbing to his feet he held his head, trying to shake the haze from his brain before following the other people down the entrance ramp. He stopped when he saw a man, a man he knew well, but hadn't seen in quite a long while. This man was older than him, and quite a bit taller. He was convinced that the man had to be some kind of royalty by the way he carried himself, and the way he dressed. One wouldn't find most occupants of Zanarkand sporting fine silk pants and an even finer red traveling cloak, that covered most of the man's body. No one paid the man any attention, even as he just stood there, looking like a cleaning girl needed to sweep up the rubble."Atobe! What are you doing here?"Atobe looked un-amused. "Waiting for you, of course, Shishido." The man looked at him briefly before walking off. "Come along, ore-sama isn't going to wait for you.""Wait, what do you mean?!"He shook his head, running after Atobe, chasing him down the bridgeway only to find the man completely gone. "Where did he-?" Shishido turned in circles, trying to avoid getting knocked over by the frantic people trying to escape. All around him buildings were burning uncontrolled, collapsing in on themselves, the lights, ever lit, were flickering out casting parts of the city into darkness. He turned again, hoping to catch a sight of Atobe only for his surroundings to go white and everything to stop.

The previously running people were frozen in mid air, feet off the ground, mid run. The fires no longer crackled or smoked but held still giving off an ominous light. Shishido turned, trying to figure out what happened only to find the hooded boy from before standing behind him. The boy looked at him, fidgeting with his hood again, trying to keep it from sliding down to far. _It begins. Don't cry._"What are you talking about?"White flashed around him again, putting time in motion again, leaving Shishido more confused than before. The boy was gone, Atobe was gone, and he was confused. He spun around again, only to see Atobe standing some feet away, having appeared out of no where."This way." Atobe turned, walking up the bridge towards the source of the attacks. Shishido ran after him, correcting him, telling him they had to go the other way to get out of the city. Atobe looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "You're questioning ore-sama's judgment?"

"No, I'm questioning that!" Shishido exclaimed, pointing the large sphere of water floating in the sky. It was hard to tell but it looked as if some kind of animal was inside it, moving within."It's called 'Sin'," answered Atobe."A sin? What's a sin?"

Atobe shook his head, his cloak shifting enough to reveal a long scar on his right cheek. A scar Shishido would never expect to see on such 'flawless' skin. "Not a sin. Simply 'Sin'."Because Shishido could form another question the building to their immediate left burst open, revealing a large urchin like creature, which opened to show off what could only be described as tentacles. It waved it's longest extension, scales shedding off of it, flying directly towards him.

He jumped back as they planted themselves firmly into the concrete before opening into winged creatures with six eyes, and a rather ominous four clawed jaw that snapped at him. He wasn't sure what to do. These creatures looked ready to eat him alive if he were to move. And sure enough, when he shifted two charged at him, knocking him to the ground in warning."Try using this," Atobe offered, holding out a blue shimmering blade. Shishido looked up at him, then over his body. Where had the man been hiding a sword? And why was he giving it to him. "Your father left it in my care. It's yours.""My father left me a sword? I'm meant to believe that?""Either take it or be eaten, ore-sama is impartial."Standing up, Shishido begrudgingly took the sword from the other man, looking it over. He didn't know much of anything about swords. In fact, this was the first one he'd ever really seen up close. He wasn't sure if it was a good weight, or length, or if it had any special attributes. Once again Atobe arched an eyebrow, looking at him critically. "Do you know how to use a weapon?""I've never had a need for one," he bit back, swinging the sword forward experimentally. The creatures backed off very slightly before pressing forward, obviously sensing he was untrained. Atobe sighed, unsheathing his katana, placing it over his shoulder. Shishido would have to ask where that sword was being kept, because Atobe's wardrobe did not leave room for such a sword."There's to many to try and kill them all. Cut a path and making a run for it, can you handle that, Shishido?"

The younger male glared before swinging his sword forward, killing one of the creatures. He tried to keep the surprised off his face at the move, considering he had just tried that out of spite. Atobe seemed to detect that and chuckled, running forward and jumping straight into the fray, cutting down creatures faster than they could respawn. Shishido looked down at the sword in his hand, deciding it was better to try than just stand there and get eaten.

He ran after Atobe, cutting down any creature that came near him. His kills weren't as quick, or smooth as Atobe's but he was getting there. All he had to do was cut a path, run through, and keep up with Atobe. So far he was doing a good job of it, until he felt a sharp pain in his side. One of the creatures jumped back, Shishido immediately cutting it down. Once the creature was dead he looked down to see spines sticking out of his side. Without thoughts of poison he yanked them out, groaning in pain."Keep up!"

Shishido glared, running to catch up with Atobe. The silver looked at him, nodding in the direction of a second urchin like creature sticking up from the ground. "Another one.""Don't complain, just kill it," Atobe ordered."If you're so strong then why don't you?"With a small scoff Atobe raised his sword, plunging it strait into the ground, the scale creatures in the immediate vicinity freezing and shattering. "Show off," Shishido glared, charging at the mother creature, running his blade straight through it. The urchin was not phased, instead firing back with a ball of energy that made Shishido feel disoriented for a moment."Keep attacking," ordered Atobe, issuing an upward slash against the creature. It was then Shishido noticed that with each attack one of the creature's tentacles dissolved into little balls of energy. No matter the strike, if they just kept attacking the thing would die. Putting all the strength he had into his sword he struck again and again until finally the urchin seem to rot, exploding into a thousand little balls of energy.

Atobe continued forward, Shishido on his heels. "Look, this is endless. Let's turn back-"" We're late. We'll continue forward.""Late for what?!" Shishido shouted as Atobe jumped again into a fray of scale monsters, taking them down. Why was he not getting answers here?"Shishido! Make yourself useful and cut that!" Shishido looked towards the object for which Atobe meant. He wasn't sure what it was, but it had an exposed electric current, meaning nothing good could come of cutting it down."Do it now!"He still didn't like this, but the scale creatures were respawning nonstop. They'd be dead if they didn't do something soon. With his mind set he charged at the battery pack like object, slicing his sword through the current, severing the tiny thread holding the thing together. The large half fizzled, the tip catching on fire. It was only as the thing fell that Shishido thought this was a really bad idea. Sure enough, half way down the object exploded, taking out the last skyscaper standing, crushing the scale creatures and almost crushing him in the , the building broke through the bridge before beginning it's downward descent into the abyss below. Atobe looked at him and Shishido just knew they were about to pull a maneuver he'd only seen in movie spheres. "This is insane," he told himself before taking off after Atobe, running across the descending skyscraper that had decided to emit small explosions as he ran across. Only in movie spheres did this work but here he was, running across a burning building. He had almost made it to the other side when the building finally caved and fell completely from under him, leaving him clutching the ledge of the bridge. With wide eyes he looked down the fire pit below. He had to pull himself over the ledge, he had to get a footing. He was trying his hardest. "Atobe!" The man was standing over him, looking down at him, watching him, not even bothering to off a helping bridge gave a sickening jerk as it was torn from the ground and began moving upward. Shishido stared at the sky as the monster inside the water globe appeared, opening it's mouth, or head, or body or whatever it was. Either way, it was sucking up his entire town, destroying everything until it was nothing."This is your final choice? You are sure?" Atobe spoke. Shishido's eyes widened, looking at the man as if he gone mad. Bending over, Atobe pulled him up by his vest collar, holding him up towards the monster, almost like an offering. They moved upwards, going towards the opening. Closer and closer. The light emanating off the monster became brighter and brighter until there was nothing, and all Shishido could here was his own screams.

_This is your story. It all begins here._

A voice called to him. He could here it. There was a voice. He opened his eyes to find himself in Zanarkand, or at least, what he knew to be his home, only it was underwater. In the distance searchlights waved back and forth, announcing a blitz match or perhaps a songstress performance. In front of his eyes were burning rubble in the shape of the Zanarkand crest, bright and in full around he realized he was in the blitz stadium, or rather, what was left of it. What had happened? Had he been dreaming? It all seemed so real to be a he could see a man in the distance, standing on a platform. As quickly as he could manage he swam downward toward the man, who slowly morphed into a child as he approached it. It was only when he stopped in front of it did he realize it was himself. Five years old, bright eyed, staring at him, unblinking. He stared at himself, and he stared had grown, hadn't he? He wasn't this child anymore. Alone. Scared in an unfamiliar world. That wasn't him anymore. He grew up to be a strong blitzer and an even stronger adult. Was that what this was representing? Showing him his growth? He didn't know, but he knew he felt light-headed. Sleepy, even. He didn't know what was going on, but soon felt as if he had fallen asleep yet again.

When he awoke sometime later a storm was surging over head, lightning bright behind black clouds. Shishido felt rather uncomfortable, laying sprawled out on a chunk of rock, his body half way in black water. A bird cooed at him, looking at him suspiciously before spreading its wings and flying off into the looked around, trying to figure out where he was. It looked to be some kind of ruins. Was he still in Zanarkand? Maybe the North side? Maybe the border?With slight trepidation he slid off the rock, into the water, wary of what might be lurking in the depths. He needed to find a shelter of some sort; wading around in water during a lightning storm was going to do him no swam forward, looking left and right, trying to wade through the ruins without getting caught. It looked like a whole city had been here once but was little more than rubble now. There was no where to go. When he came upon a staircase he found that it lead no where, but he did manage to find 200 gil laying under a rock. He wasn't sure if gil would even come in handy, but once he found civilization it was bound to come in useful. Though climbing out of the water was a safe good break to look around, which allowed him to spot a definite shelter possibility just a few feet ahead of back into the water he swam forward, climbing up another set of stairs that led him under a broken arch. But up ahead is what caught his attention. There was a building up ahead. True it had a large chunk missing from it's ceiling but some cover was better than nothing. He was excited. Excited enough to run up the path, stopping momentarily to marvel at the large statures under the water. There had definitely been some kind of temple or something here before. Worshipping what, he did not he made a move to continue, only for a crackling to catch his ears. He looked up expecting something to fall only to find the path give out under his feet, sending him splashing into the water below. "Of course," he cursed, hitting the water. Now he had to find someway to get back up to the temple. Well, best to back track. Laying on his back he kicked his feet, swimming back the way he came until suddenly it was like he was being watched.

He stopped, looking around only to find this feeling validated as large fish with six fins jumped over his head, as if flying. Without thought he jumped up, diving deeper into the water. What was he meant to do? Fight them off? He didn't have his sword anymore. He didn't know what happened to it fish didn't seem to care as they swam after him, surrounding him, daring him to make a move. A thought had him reaching back, his sword magically appearing from nothing. He looked at the weapon in disbelief before remembering his current predicament. Without a second thought he swam forward, severing the closest fish's head before spinning and taking out the next. He was aiming for the third when an echoing roar from a dark cave caught both their wasn't planning to stick around to see this thing. As quickly as he could he took off, looking for a safe haven. He caught glimpses of the creature as it merged. Something between glowing tentacles, shrimp, and a skeleton, but 100 times the size. He knew he would be no match for this thing and needed to seek cover fish he had abandoned gave a death cry, as the water turned red; specs of blood floating past him. It seemed the creature had followed the smell right to Shishido, making the brunette swim faster, finding an opening and taking it just as the creature rammed it's head into the stone, sealing the exit firmly. If he could curse loud enough he would. Once again he was trapped with one option and that was up some precarious looking steps."Just great," he sighed, climbing out of the water, making his way up the steps. "First my home gets destroyed, then I get attacked and sucked into some kind of monster, stuck in some place I don't know, almost killed by fish, and now I'm stuck here where it's damned cold. Why is this happening to me?"He walked through the one doorway at the top of the stairs, pushing past the rocks and the ruins, trying to find a suitable place to sit, or sleep. Luckily, he found himself in a large circular room. Unfortunately, teeth baring gargoyles stared down at him, as if ready to strike him down. This room definitely seemed to have been some kind of temple, but had since fallen into ruin; the surrounding water keeping the room in a constant state of moisture and walked forward, looking around, hoping to find another exit, but finding no plausible option. However, fate seemed to cut him a break, causing him to trip over a bundle of sticks. "Sticks? What are the chances of finding something to start a fire around here?" Stretching his arms over his head he began walking around, looking under rocks and concrete for any sign of materials. "Nothing," he groaned, pushing his hair back from the on flow of water that dripped from the balcony back cracked as he stood straight, the sound echoing back to him. He squirted into the darkness, looking for something that probably was not there. With a yawn he moved forward as if an invisible force was telling him to walk toward the corner. To his surprise he hazy mind led him straight to a broken wooden door. Pulling it open he stuck his head inside, finding a stairwell that seemed to lead to the balcony. If his previous endeavors thus far had taught him anything, it was the fact that some kind of monster was going to jump out an attack him. That in mind he proceeded cautiously into the corridor, looking around as he climbed the stairs.

Half way up the steps he found a withered bouquet of some sort. He wasn't sure if it would be useful to starting a fire but it was worth a try. A continued search of the area found a small piece of flint and some kind of purple liquid in a corked vial. He wasn't sure of that's purpose but it might come in handy later, so he pocketed it.

An examination of the flint reveled that it was unused; a bit wet, but unused. Hopefully it would spark or he'd be stuck in the cold and dark, and then he'd be fish food for sure. How that made sense, he wasn't sure, but it sound dramatic enough.

He returned to the sticks in the middle of the room, tossing the branch down on the bundle and kneeling down. If anyone asked, he would say he'd used flint another times and knew exactly how to use it. If anyone watched, they'd see him fumbling trying to get a spark off. It took five tries before the flint clicked and sparks flew into the brush, immediately catching onto the withered leaves of the plant, setting it ablaze. "So I have fire-" he sighed, holding his hand out to catch some warmth. "But what now?" What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't just stay here, but he didn't see any means of escape. Even going the way he came was impossibility seeing as it was no caved in. He could always try the balcony, see if there was a way to climb over the closed his eyes, thinking of how to get out of this. His thoughts wandered home, wondering if he'd ever see it again; wondering if any of it would still be there. Never in his life did he want to cuddle in his sheets as much as he did now. He wanted to climb into his bed, listen to the pod casts, and think about blitz ball. Truthfully, he wanted his spoiled, lethargic life back. Who in their right mind wanted to fight to stay alive? Struggle to find warmth? Okay, maybe he was a bit of a spoiled brat, but he liked being a spoiled roared over head. Lightning lit the room, his eyes catching sight of something moving. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to have only imagined it-a trick of the light perhaps. When they reopened he was rewarded with the sight of a brown monster staring down at him. It's legs glistened in the bit of light around them, leading him to believe they were covered in some kind of metal; some kind of very sharp, possibly deadly metal. Its tail swished dangerously behind it, signaling its undoubted intentions to attack again he found his sword in hand as if prompted to protect himself, as if the sword knew he needed it. The creature jumped, stretching it's body into a perfectly arched 'X', baring it's jagged sharp fingers, three on each foot. It hit the ground hard, digging it's claws into the concrete as if it were sand. Shishido gulped, knowing he needed to be on the offensive or he'd be dust in seconds. Raising his sword above his head, he charged towards the creature, slashing his sword against it's body, jumping back to avoid it's attacks. With all the strength he could muster he lunged forward, his sword blocked by the creature's armor.

He jumped back, catching his breath, planning his next attack when a rumbling made him jolt. Was the temple caving in? It sure seemed like it and the creature looked about ready to bolt. However, a cave in wouldn't cause a bright light to fill the room. He raised his arm, blocking the intrusion as one of the previous sealed chambers blew out ward, a group of blondes rushing into the room, guns at the ready.A petite blonde, the smallest of the group, pushed through, adjusting his gloves, scratching his messy blonde hair. He gave a yawn, stretching his arms above his head. This boy seemed completely unbothered by the presence of the monster or the fact that he had just blown through the door, or the fact that he was wearing a nude body suit that left very little to the imagination. One of the group tapped the boy, said boy jumping in surprise, looking around. "FIEND!" the boy exclaimed, digging into a hip pouch. He pulled something that looked like a grenade out of his pouch, waving to Shishido. "Kad tufh!"Shishido had no idea what the boy was saying, and before he even got the chance to ask the blonde was hurling the grenade towards him and the monster. He jumped out of the way of the blast, the monster shattering into hundreds of rainbow orbs. "What in the-" It seemed the blondes were not done. They ran forward, grabbing him by his ponytail, pulling him up roughly. He groaned, trying to kick away from them."Y fiend eh risyh teckieca?" the blonde next to him questioned, gun pointed at him. Shishido shook his head, trying to pull away, glaring at the strain on his smallest blonde raised his hand, gaining the other's attention. "Fyed! E drehg ra naymmo ec risyh. Fa cruimt pnehk res fedr ic."

"Yht ev ra'c hud-"Petite blond shook his head, walking up to Shishido, he looked him over for a moment before striking him at the nape, instantly sending his world to black.

-chapter 1 end-

*Al Bhed Translations*

Kad tufh! = Get down!

Y veaht eh risyh teckieca? = A fiend in human disguise?

Fyed! E drehg ra naymmo ec risyh. Fa cruimt pnehk res fedr ic. = Wait! I think he really is human. We should bring him with us.

Yht ev ra'c hud- = And if he's not-

*Note: As per game play, Al Bhed will become readable as we reach the locations of the Al Bhed primers. For those un-familiar with the game, the primers are a set of dictionaries that the main character finds to help him understand the Al Bhed language.


End file.
